Cup of Confidence
by KnowMyNameNotMyStory
Summary: Too many days are wasted comparing ourselves to others and wishing to be something we aren't. The basis of authentic, inner confidence is the ability to relax, be in the present moment and feel totally comfortable in our own skins. So have a cup of coffee and take in the moment. Life is getting lost... just to find something new.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I Do Not Own Austin & Ally**

* * *

*beep beep beep*  
*beep beep beep*  
*beep beep beep*

She rolled over and fiddled to shut her alarm off. She took in the crisp morning breeze blowing through her window and slowly sat up in her bed. The sun was shining brightly through her 7th story apartment window. She got up, put her morning robe on and smiled as she overlooked the Chicago streets below her. This was definitely not like her beach front home in Miami. Over there the salty morning air and sounds of waves kissing the shore was her morning canvas. Out here it was rustle and bustle of the busy streets, a lively place to be.

After her morning routine, which consisted of 15-minute yoga stretches with her roommate in the living room and a nice warm shower, she was off to start her day.

"So how's that big project thing coming along?" her roommate asked while they took the subway downtown.

"Oh you know, same ol' same ol'. I just sit there and take notes, fact checking and stuff."

"Girl, you should be more involved with the project. I mean, whenever I hear you working in the kitchen while I watch _Video Countdown Live_ , you have all these great ideas."

"I know, but it's not my position to be the 'idea maker'," she air quoted. "I'm not that high up."

"Then do something to make yourself high up!" her roommate exclaimed.

Soon enough, they reached their stop and got off the transit. Making their way up the stairs to the main street and before going off to separate directions – she went to the west side to the business district, and her roommate worked at the art gallery near city hall – her roommate gave one last piece of advice.

"All I'm saying is that one day you'll miss your chance to be heard. I don't want that to happen to you. You're brilliant, Ally!"

"Thanks Kira," she smiled at her roommate.

"Well, go crunch them numbers then!" her roommate, Kira waved as she walked toward the art gallery.

"I'm not an accountant!" Ally hollered at her friend.

"Well all you suit-wearing business people look the same to me," she snickered. "Go... make yourself be heard then!" Kira said with a fist pump in the air.

"Duly noted," Ally giggled. "See ya!"

Meet Ally Dawson. Born and raised in the beautiful city of Miami Florida, Ally was your average girl next door – sweet, smart, and shy. Ally's life was pretty average; she wasn't an athlete or in the drama club. She was a junior scholar with maybe one or two friends and worked part time at her father's music store at the Miami Mall. After her graduation from business school, Ally got an incredible opportunity to work for a renowned Fortune 500 company in Illinois. Not wanting to pass up the opportunity, she accepted it immediately and left her life in Miami to start anew. To anyone else, this would seem like a dream, and to Ally it was. But it was also a terrifying journey. Remember, Ally was a bit shy. Like her roommate Kira pointed out, Ally wasn't always noticed. She was passive, to say the least. She was a very bright, straight A, 4.3 GPA student, but she was lacking in the self-confidence department. The reason she was invited to Chicago in the first place was because of her exemplary senior project – she created a recycling program for a local magazine publication in Miami, and the program launched, giving Ally and her team some 15-minutes of fame for a bit. A hiring manager from Chicago found out Ally was the brains of the operation and offered her a job with their firm immediately after graduation. Ally was a nice girl. She didn't like to play dirty, and she was too comfortable in her 'mediocre' world. Her best friend and coworker Dez, along with her other best friend and roommate Kira, would always push her to speak up at work, but no matter what, Ally was too shy to follow through. Maybe Kira was right. Maybe she had missed her chance to be noticed several times already, but for now Ally was comfortable.

"Hey Alls," her male best friend greeted her in front of a corner coffee shop, like they did every morning.

"Hey Dez, did you see they have the fall coffee flavors already?" Ally pointed out. The pair went inside and stood in line.

"Thinking about going bold and actually trying them this year?"

"I don't know maybe. Does it taste good?"

"I wouldn't know because I haven't had a cup of coffee in like 2 years," he chuckled.

"I still can't believe you quit drinking coffee like cold Turkey," she shook her head.

"I needed to, Ally. Coffee gave me the jitters!"

"Dez, you need to stop with your weird diet phases," she laughed.

"Diet phases? I wouldn't call cutting off caffeine a diet phase. I still drink tea you know?" he said.

"Not just coffee. You went on this crazy diet and stopped eating gluten for like 6 months. Then you decided to go Vegan. But I know how much you love steak so you didn't last long," she pointed.

"Two weeks! I didn't have meat for 2 weeks! That's gotta count for something," he defended.

"I know, I know," she laughed. "'I'm just pointing out that you have a weird diet plan for yourself."

"Nothing wrong in trying new things," he pointed out.

"I guess," she shrugged.

She heard that all the time. Especially from Dez. Mostly because he was her best friend and coworker. Ally moved to Chicago the same time Dez did - three years ago. She and Dez started their first day at their company together; Ally being in the Sales and Product Marketing team, and Dez being in Graphics. Since they were new, and spent a few days together doing orientations and Skype meeting the international team with their boss, the two spent several lunches getting to know one another. Dez moved to Chicago from San Francisco, so he too was new to the city. It was natural for the two new employees to become friends. Ally didn't mind, she could use more friends. Dez came from a family of doctors. Being the only one in the family to pursue in graphic arts and business, he was the black sheep of the family. It didn't help that he was the only ginger-headed one in the family, inheriting this trait from his great grandfather, being the first ginger in 80 years within his ancestry. His sister, though she joined the air force, was a nurse, so she was still counted in the medical field. Dez had a nice group of friends back home, but he never found the support he needed from family. That's why when meeting Ally when he got his first chance to leave home, she reminded him of his only family member that was nice to him, his sister in the air force. They saw one another as brother and sister (Ally was an only child), and that in itself comforted them both in this new city. They've been friends for the past 3 years, and eventually Dez caught on to Ally's personality of being too "comfortable" to try new things. He saw potential in her like everyone else.

"Welcome to the Coffee Cup, what would you like today?" the barista behind the counter greeted them.

"Hmm.. I'm feeling adventurous today. What would you say is the best brewed tea you got, buddy?" Dez asked.

"I would say the seasonal flavored ones, pumpkin spice chai tea."

"Hmm..."

"Do you even like the taste of pumpkin?" Ally asked her friend. "Or is this a ginger thing where you like things the same color as your hair?" she joked.

"Har har," Dez fake laughed. "I don't know, I guess I'll try it out," he said to her and ordered the drink.

"And you, Miss?"

"Why don't you try the same thing?" her friend suggested.

"I don't know, I've always wanted to, but I've never had that flavor before," she hesitated.

"Well you'll never know unless you try."

"It's pretty good I promise you that," the barista admitted. "I'm a coffee guy and this is a quality brew."

Dez and the barista were hopeful that she try it and eventually she gave in.

"Okay, I'll take the same thing but the latte please," she told the barista.

"See, Ally. Nothing wrong with trying something out of your comfort zone," Dez cleverly said.

"I agree," the barista said and handed them their drinks. "And hey, if you don't like it, come back tomorrow and I'll give you your usual order, on the house."

"You know my usual order?" she quipped an eyebrow.

"Mocha latte with a shot of vanilla and soy matcha green tea," he recited perfectly while pointing out Ally and Dez's drink orders, respectively. "Have a nice day," he cheekily grinned at the two.

"How did he know our orders? Is he a stalker?" Ally wondered as they walked out the door and headed down the block to work.

"How could he not?" Dez laughed. "We've been going to the same coffee shop every day since we both moved here and have ordered the exact same drink. Plus, the barista owns the coffee shop! He's taken our orders countless times."

"Oh yeah, huh?"

"We're predictable, Ally. Face it," Dez laughed.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"Happy Friday everyone! It's almost the weekend," Steve Carter, vice president of The Gold Group, greeted the Sales and Marketing teams. "Now our fourth quarter expo is right around the corner and in our last meeting, we agreed to focus on our new mobile logistics application. We'll have a lot of our customers there, plus a ton of other prospects who would LOVE to get their hands on this product. I'm going to need us to whip up a great presentation for the crowd to demo our new product and service. Now, I'm happy to announce that Brooke's team will head this project, with the assistance of Cassidy's management team. I would love to bring you all with us to New York, but we can only send the necessary people. Nevertheless, thank you for your contribution."

Ally liked her boss. He genuinely cared about his employees and took time to get to know them. He wasn't stuck up, what you'd expect from a manager of a huge corporation like theirs. He was the one who actually called her up, once his recruiter gave her their company pamphlet, to make sure Ally would take the job. He saw potential in her. Even if she couldn't see it herself.

Now Brooke, she was another story. Brooke played dirty. Granted, she was a sly business woman, but ethics to her went right out the window. Brooke knew when to put up a front, and she knew when she could get away with things. Ally never intentionally did anything to get Brooke to hate her, but the sole reason was because of how Ally got recruited. A graduate from college, Ally was already assistant to her director, Cassidy, who had an equivalent role to that of Brooke's. Brooke had been with the company for 10 years, and it took her a good majority of it to get to her directorial position, despite cutting a few corners along the way. She wanted to be top dog, and wanted everyone to know it. Which was why 3 years ago, when Ally was hired and announced assistant director of a team, Brooke immediately deemed her a threat. Ally had no other intentions but to do her best and work alongside her team, not caring for a promotion this early in her career.

"So Brooke, I hear your team already has a plan for the presentation?" Steve mentioned.

"Yes we do, Steve!" Brooke announced. She instructed her team to make their way to the front and set up a couple of easels to share with the crowd. "Okay, so our new app will revolutionize the logistics world. With the sleek design and graphics, it's sure to impress." Brooke shared some screen shots of amazing graphics that the mobile application did in fact feature. "We need to make this very visual for the crowd. They'll be drawn in to what they see."

The teams nodded, impressed with the graphics. Until now, no one really saw the actual application, so this was new to them. Steve was impressed himself with the images. Ally was proud of the graphics, knowing her best friend took part in it. Though since he wasn't in the management team like Ally was, he wasn't included in these meetings, only the director of his department. She made a note to praise him after the meeting.

"Not bad, Brooke. Not bad. What else?" he asked.

"What else is there?" she countered. "Logistics - it's not the most exciting thing in operations, but it's important. When you think logistics, you think UPS. And I'm sorry but brown is so 2014," she joked, prompting them all to laugh. "We'll be the first company to make Logistics stand out."

"Interesting," he nodded.

 _That's it?_ Ally thought to herself. Brooke clearly had a lot more work cut out for herself.

Cassidy, Ally's director and head of her team, noticed the confused expression and nudged her.

"What's up, Ally? Are you lost?"

"No Cass," Ally chuckled. "It's just... She's missing a huge chunk there. What about the actual technology itself?"

"Oh don't I know it," Cassidy laughed. "But it's her project. Let her be."

"You should've gotten this project," Ally told her.

"Any other day I would challenge her, you know I would," Cassidy winked, "but with this little one coming any day now, I gotta save up my patience." The girls laughed.

Cassidy was the only person to ever get under Brooke's skin, not being afraid to challenge her. She was as much a workaholic as Brooke, but played fair. More so, the woman was 7 months pregnant and was supposed to go on maternity leave after 6 months, but wanted to stick around to help her other management team for the expo. And since she was heading on maternity leave soon (by the force of her boss and the rest of her team), she had no plans to add more to her plate before her baby was due. Granted she loved to work, but she also wanted to stay healthy when her baby comes.

Hearing the girls giggle in the back, Brooke was tick at their possible interruption and decided to call them out. She lived for embarrassing others.

"Ahem!" she cleared her throat, "Is there something you ladies in the back would like to say?" she snidely remarked.

They all turned to Cassidy and Ally.

"Yes, we are always open for comments," their boss happily offered them to speak up.

Ally did not want the attention, especially seeing an evil expression on Brooke's face. Cassidy knew Ally had potential, that's why she asked Steve to put Ally on her team once she got hired.

She, like Dez and Kira, wanted Ally to stand up for herself.

"Ally pointed out something real good," Cassidy blurted.

Ally turned to her supervisor, wide-eyed and suddenly nervous. _What are you doing?!_ Her eyes spoke for herself. Ignoring her death stare, Cassidy nudged her and gave Ally an encouraging nod to speak up.

"Ally, what's your suggestion?" her boss asked.

"Uh..." she said before clearing her throat. "Um... well, I mean Brooke's idea is great. We have amazing graphics and it definitely doesn't look boring," she lightened the mood. The group lightly chuckled. "But, I was wondering if you should also highlight the mobility of the product. I mean, it's an app anyways, that's what apps are for."

Suddenly, the group came to their senses. Ally was right. They wanted to know more about the app itself.

"That," Steve said before standing up. "... is a _great_ point. Good job, Ally," he smiled at her. "Maybe you should consult Brooke on a few things," he suggested.

Cassidy smiled cheek to cheek, happy for her team member. But Brooke could not have that.

"Wait- Steve! She's not even qualified to come to the expo. She's not on management," she rebutted.

"Oh right," he almost forgot. "Oh well, maybe Ally can give us a few pointers before the presentation then. Good job everyone. We'll reconvene Monday!"

As the girls walked out of the conference room and back to the main hall, Dez spotted his best friend and waved them down towards his direction. "So how was the meeting?" Dez asked.

"Dez, you should've been there," Cassidy said. "Ally spoke up and made Brooke look like a lost puppy."

"What?! Nice!" He held his hand up for a high-five. She weakly complied, her mind being elsewhere.

"Yeah, that's only because Cassidy put me on the spot!" Ally nervously chewed her hair.

"Oh stop! You knew Brooke's presentation wasn't even good. Steve needed to know. Don't sweat, Ally. You did good."

Once Cassidy left, Ally and Dez headed to the break room.

"I wish I would've been there to see the look on Brooke's face," Dez laughed.

"I wasn't trying to make her look bad," Ally pointed out. "Oh an by the way, we caught a glimpse of the app's screen-shots. Nice job on the graphics."

They poured some water into their styrofoam cups and sat down at one of the tables.

"Thanks, Ally but I barely took part in the app," he chuckled, "just some color schemes. My manager had me and another guy started on Christmas themed web designs. And enough about me, back to Brooke."

"What about her?" Ally wondered.

"I would so pay to see her get showed up!" he cheered.

"Quiet down! You don't want to start a commotion," She hushed her friend.

"Hey guys," Trish, a girl who worked in HR stepped into the break room. "What's up?" she asked as she poured herself some coffee.

"Oh nothing, just another Friday at the office," Ally chuckled.

"Just another Friday? Ally made Brooke look bad!" Dez shared.

"Dez! You really want us to get in trouble with HR?!" Ally told her friend.

"No worries," Trish laughed. "I may be in HR, but let's be real. Who really likes Brooke here?" she took a seat next to the pair.

"Wow, I didn't know we weren't the only ones with the problem," Ally was surprised.

"Oh Ally, so naive," Dez shook his head.

"Nope. She's got beef with everyone. She's cut a lot of corners to get to where she is," Trish said. "And between you and me, if she wasn't so high up in management, that girl should've already been fired."

"What do you mean?" they asked.

"I mean," Trish looked around to make sure no one was around. She was in HR for goodness sake and she was gossiping. "From what I hear, she's got a lot of secrets that even HR doesn't know are real or not, but we can't find anything to go against her."

"How do you know it's her though?" Ally wondered.

"How could you not? Every time something shady happens, she's always somehow involved. But she clears her name almost immediately."

"Sneaky," Dez commented.

"Yeah well I didn't even do much, just pointed something out. She still gets the project anyways."

"Really? Why couldn't you get it if you had a better idea?" Trish asked.

"Because the project is only qualified for a higher level and I'm only assistant to my director. Not allowed to take over."

"Ah. What a shame. Would've loved to see someone boil her blood," she chuckled, earning a high-five from Dez.

"I just don't want to get even more on her bad side already, so let's just drop it you guys," Ally said.

The day ended with nothing as exciting since Ally called Brooke out. She just wanted to get through her work day without Brooke harassing her, and she managed to dodge her by 5 o' clock. Her weekend wasn't too energy-consuming. Ally usually spent her weekends in her apartment, catching up on reading the latest best selling novels, cleaning or rearranging some furniture, and video chatting with her parents on Sunday. Three years she's been there and the most Ally did to get to know her city was take a one-day tour around with Dez and Kira to the Willis Tower and Navy pier. That, to Ally, was a very adventurous day. Ally liked routine, she liked simple. She was comfortable that way. Of course, like any other person, she would love to have more excitement, though she would always choose to dream instead of do. _Maybe someday_ , was Ally's mantra. Maybe someday she'd find her self-confidence.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Monday morning came too soon and Ally woke up that morning just like every other Monday. Her yoga, shower, subway ride, and coffee run before heading to work was timed _almost_ perfectly.

"Ah, we made it in time! I was a bit worried back there," Ally exclaimed while she and Dez rode the elevator up to their floor.

"Ally, we always make it to work around 10 minutes before we clock in. The point is to give us leeway if there's a long coffee line or excessive waiting at the crosswalks," Dez said before he sipped his tea. "Or in this case, you forgot to set your alarm."

"Thank God for my internal alarm clock," she said. That morning, Ally over slept by 3 minutes. And even those 180 seconds lost threw Ally off the entire morning."

"So relax, Ally. Our grace period is there for a reason."

"Yeah but you never know," she pointed out.

"Yes we do know," he chuckled. "It's our routine!"

Once they reached their desks, which to their favor were adjacent to one another, Ally was prepared to get to work. Any other person would dread Mondays, but Ally Dawson lived for them. To her, it was a new start every week to get her job done as best as she could.

"Ally," their boss called from down the hall, turning a few heads.

She poked her head out of her cubicle to show herself.

"Would you come here for a sec?"

Dez popped his head above the adjoining wall of their cubicle. "Did you do something bad, Alls?"

"I don't think so?" Ally furrowed her eyebrows, wondering why her boss was calling her in.

"Oh no," he fake gasped, "What if he's giving you a strike for coming in 7 minutes early instead of 10?!"

"Shut up," she rolled her eyes. She was already nervous, and even though Dez was only joking, she grew even more nervous for thinking of that silly reason to get in trouble.

When she reached his office and closed the door, he gestured for her to sit at one of the chairs in front of his desk.

"Is there something wrong, Mr. Carter?" she asked anxiously.

"Ally, how many times do I have to tell you? Call me Steve," he chuckled.

"Sorry sir, just habit," she shyly chuckled.

"Ally, you're not in trouble. Cassidy just wanted a conference call between the three of us."

Once she heard that, she breathed a sigh of relief. He dialed a number and Cassidy was on the phone a couple of rings later.

"Good morning, Cassidy. Steve and Ally here," he began.

"Hey boss, hey Alls. Sorry to call on short notice."

"No problem, is everything okay?" Ally asked.

"Everything is great you guys don't worry. No emergency with this little one," she chuckled.

"So what's up?" Steve asked.

"Well, my husband wanted our baby to be born at our home town in Vermont, and when he was going to buy tickets this morning for next month, the travel agent told us that they wouldn't allow me to fly that late in my pregnancy. So he said that we need to take our leave like right now so we can be at my parents' house before I deliver."

"No worries, Cassidy. We completely understand!" Steve encouraged. "You've got an amazing team here and your assistant director is of course very gifted."

"That she is," Cassidy agreed. "Ally, you going to be okay managing everyone for an extra month on top of my leave?"

"Of course, Cass. Don't worry about us. You've taught me well," Ally smiled to the phone.

"Listen, anything you need from us, let us know. And we expect a full report and lots of adorable photos when you're baby is born!" Steve cheered.

"Will do. Thanks you guys. I'll see you in 4 and half months!"

Once her boss hung up, he turned to her.

"So Ally. You up for the challenge?" he asked regarding taking over the team.

"Yes sir. I've worked close with Cassidy to be able to help the rest of the team finish the project before they head off to the expo."

"Great, let's go out and make the announcement."

The two got up and left his office, making their way down the hall towards the middle of the room.

"Excuse me, may I have everyone's attention," Steve called out.

They all stopped and lowered their murmurs, giving their attention to their dominant.

"So as you all know Cassidy is expecting a little addition to her family in a couple months," he began. "But she needed to take her maternity leave a bit early, due to traveling while pregnant for safety precautions. That being said, Ally Dawson, her assistant director, will be acting executive director for their team until Cassidy comes back in about 5 months."

Everyone clapped for Ally, her core team cheering her on.

"Now, Ally for the time being will complete the itinerary for the expo so her executive team will be prepped for it, and then she will take over all of Cassidy's other responsibilities afterwards. Let's give it up for Ally Dawson you guys!"

An even louder applause from before erupted and Ally was extremely flattered. Immediately, a person from Ally's team spoke up.

"Hey Ally, that means you could take part of the project too!" he said.

"That's right, Ally's on the executive team now," another team member said.

"She could even work with Brooke too on the presentation," someone else commented.

Murmurs were heard around the room and her boss was also coming to terms with the new shift in management. Ally was given pats on her back, anxious about the sudden responsibilities given to her. She started to blush, having to get used to the flattery and attention for the coming months.

From the corner of the room, the green-eyed monster in Brooke was about ready to burst.

"Wait!" she exclaimed a little to loud. They turned their heads to her. "Ally is only a temporary member of the executive team, excluding her from any full-time executive level responsibilities," she retaliated.

Suddenly, faces drew blank, knowing Brooke was right. When it counted, Brooke used the rules - though only to her advantage. Ally, though at the back of her mind was a bit excited to work on the project, wasn't as affected with Brooke's revelation. She was still given a load of responsibility, so she had nothing to be sad about. Though she knew this was just typical Brooke not wanting to shy away from the spotlight.

Trish, who along with the rest of HR, scoffed that Brooke 'cared' about the rules just to make sure she wouldn't lose her seniority, really didn't want Brooke to have her way again. After talking to Dez and Ally the other day about Ally doing better at a meeting than Brooke, she wanted her co-worker to get her shot. And she had a feeling she could enlighten the situation. While everyone was talking about the news, she quickly pulled her handbook out of her desk drawer and searched intently for a specific section. When she found what she was looking for, she smiled, knowing her thoughts were spot on.

"Actually," she popped up from her seat to grab the attention of the room. This time, heads turned to her. Trish, even though she was standing, was pretty short – blame it on her mother, who Trish would always describe as a "short Latina lady" and inherited most of her genes from, had to step out of her cubicle to be fully seen. She walked towards Ally and Steve with her handbook and began to recite a specific section.

"It says here in our Gold Group official handbook; _Section 4, Paragraph 12 – Any acting, temporary, subcontracted or part-time executive employee is exempt from executive level full-time responsibilities..._ "

"See!" Brooke smirked, crossing her arms in victory.

"Hold on, I'm not finished," Trish said. This made Brooke nervous. " _Except in the event if the executive employee is given the position for more than one (1) business quarter..._ "

"Ally's going to be acting director for 5 months," a team member pointed out. "So that means..."

" _Then said employee is hence given full executive responsibilities for their time of holding the position until termination of promotion_ ," Trish finished. "Ally is technically qualified to work with Brooke on the project AND attend the expo, in Cassidy's place."

Brooke's jaw nearly dropped to the floor. Dez, Trish, and everyone saw it.

"Yeah Ally, way to go!" her ginger-headed best friend shouted. Cheers were heard throughout the room and Ally was indeed excited.

"No! That is _my_ project!" Brooke cried, surprising everyone from her sudden outburst.

Trish tried her very best not to let a laugh sneak out, as did many others.

"Uh.. Brooke, let's talk about this in my office. Everyone let's get back to work," he said. "Ally, you should come too," he told her.

Following him and Brooke back to his office, she passed Dez's cubicle. He flashed a smile and fist bumped her on the way, proud of his friend.

"Give her hell," he whispered, making her chuckle.

Once the doors were closed, Brooke paced back and forth in the office. Ally swiftly walked over to the chair she had previously sat in earlier and Steve walked over to his desk to prepare for a cat fight.

"Alright, what's up Brooke?"

Brooke stopped pacing back and forth and stood at the edge of the desk, slapping a palm to the table top, startling Ally.

" _She_ is not qualified to take over _my_ project!" she spat.

"Brooke, please," her boss demanded professionalism. "Trish just read it, Ally is more than qualified for any responsibilities Cassidy had, including going to the expo. And no one said she'd take over your project. It's still yours."

"Well of course she can't take over. We've been planning this expo for months."

Outside, Dez passed by, stopping behind the door in hopes to listen in.

"Eavesdropping are we?" Trish popped up behind him.

"Wha- what are you talking about," Dez spun around, failing at acting casual.

"You're lucky I'm not that typical crazy HR person," Trish laughed.

"Hey, that was a cool thing you did for Ally there, finding the loophole."

"Dez, there's always a loophole. And besides, you were right. Someone should stick it to Brooke. I would love to see Ally do that."

"Yeah, but it looks like she's not standing up for herself," he motioned to the trio in the office.

Trish glanced over. Ally was sitting quietly in her chair, Steve was trying to calm the situation and Brooke was being her typical rambunctious self. "Man, I wish she'd speak up."

"Me too. Ally deserves to be heard."

Back in Steve's office...

"Yes, that's true, but need I remind you, we didn't just pick Ally out of a random group of names. She's next in line after Cassidy. Ally knows the project as much as everyone else involved. Come on Brooke. Be a team player, alright? Ally?"

"Um... I'm game. I'm on your side, Brooke," she finally spoke up.

"Oh really? Trying to take over my project in the last meeting doesn't seem like you're on my side," she rudely answered.

"I was only trying to help," Ally said. "You have an amazing idea."

"Yeah, Brooke. Let Ally help you. We are one company after all."

"What are we a high school basketball team?" Brooke rolled her eyes. "Why not throw a contest for prom queen for God's sake while we're at it!"

"Brooke, I thought of all people you'd be very welcoming and showing the Gold Group comradery," Steve said. Steve had a lot of patience for Brooke. He believed she had talent, but even he saw that she was difficult to work with from time to time. This was one of the times she tested her patience with him. "And you know what, I think I'll take you up on that."

"On what?" Ally wondered.

"This contest."

"Contest?" Ally and Brooke said in unison.

"Yeah, why not? But we're still a team. From what I remember, Ally had some good points, and you had good points too. How about on Friday you both present to me your ideas for the project, and the best idea will go to the expo."

Ally was dumbfounded. Was this really happening?

"But Steve-"

"But nothing, Brooke. Remember we're a team. And we need to do what's best for the team in our most important event of the year. Ally, you up for the challenge?"

"Uh... Y-yes sir. Thank you," she said, half excited, half terrified.

"Great. That'll be all." he dismissed them.

Ally got up and walked out, absolutely stunned at how the confrontation went. She got to her desk and sighed with contentment. This was real life. This was actually happening. All the times Kira and Dez talked to her about getting her shot was now handed to her in just one morning. And it wasn't even 10:00 AM.

"Hey so what happened with Brooke?" Dez popped his head up from their cubicle wall. When he glanced at his friend, she was still in her state of shock. Coming from around his cubicle and walking to her desk, he waved a hand and snapped his fingers at her face.

"Ally, hello?"

"Oh hey, Dez," Ally was snapped out of her thoughts.

"You okay buddy? Didn't get eaten alive by Brooke right? Cuz I remember telling you to give her hell," he chuckled.

"No," she giggled, "I'm just... what a Monday right?"

"Yeah, congrats Ally, you really deserve this. I'm happy for you," he gave her a high-five.

"Guess what happened in there."

"Brooke blew up and her guts are splattered all over the wall?"

"No weirdo, she's still yelling in Steve's office," she pointed at Brooke still pacing back and forth and yelling, while their boss rubbed his temples wishing for her to stop.

"Yeah, why is she all riled up? I mean, it's just a temporary promotion."

"Well... Steve kind of... gave her project to me..."

"He what?!" Dez said a little too loud, prompting a few heads to turn their way.

"Shhh Dez!" Ally whisper yelled. "Well, Brooke was acting childish and Steve decided to give both me and Brooke the chance to come up with an idea and present it to him this Friday. The best idea gets to go to the expo and gets to head the project."

"Oh my God, this is huge!" Dez hugged his best friend. "Anything you need. I want to help. I want to see Brooke melt," he mischievously grinned.

"Thanks Dez," she laughed. "But..."

"But what?" he wondered.

"I don't know, this is all happening so fast..."

"Yeah, and?"

"Do you think I can beat her?"

"Ally, of course you can. This is the change I've been telling you that your life needs. You got this, Dawson!"

A moment later, Brooke finally stepped out of the office. No one dared to make eye contact with her – especially since they knew she was pissed. She walked briskly to Ally's cubicle. Seeing her, Dez stood up so Ally could meet face-to-face with Brooke.

"Hey Brooke," Ally began. "Um... listen. No hard feelings okay?"

"Pffft," Brook responded. "Oh Ally. Do you really think a newb like you could come to my level in just one week?"

"Um, I-"

"And I know what you're up to."

"I'm not up to anything?" Ally was confused. She really had no ulterior motive.

"I will not let you get in the way of my plans with this company. So stay in your little circle and stay out of my way."

"I just wanted to wish you luck," Ally tried not to start anything.

"Luck is for the weak, Dawson," she sneered.

After she walked off, Dez spoke up.

"Wow. Ally please beat her. I'm begging you."

"You know what Dez." she turned to her friend with a stern expression, "let's do this."

* * *

 **A/N: To my Austin & Ally ff readers - Like I said, I had more Auslly coming your way and here it is. I remember writing this idea down a while back, and since I didn't go to work or do anything for almost 2 weeks (due to sickness), I managed to finish this story. Hope you guys like it.**

 **To my Victorious ff readers who get alerts from me with new updates/stories - I apologize for disappointing you with Auslly instead of Cabbie. I've retired from Fanfiction, but I'm trying to finish what I started with Austin & Ally solely because there's still some inspiration there since it's still airing, and because I made a promise to the A&A fandom.**

 **To all my readers - my temporary return will end in March. That will be my permanent retirement (for reals this time lol) I've got big news to share but I won't find out until then (kind of waiting in the mail for an important letter). If I happen to find inspiration from Victorious, Austin & Ally, Shake It Up, or even another disney/nick show from now until then, I will drabble something down and share it with you guys.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks for the love you guys :)**

* * *

"All I'm saying is if you wanna play at her level, you've got to go above and beyond."

"But I don't want to go to her level. I'm not going to play dirty, Dez."

"I'm not saying play dirty. I'm saying, now that she knows you're a potential threat, she's going to go all out in her presentation, trying to show you up and impress Steve. So you gotta do more than just present ideas on a whiteboard."

"What do you mean?"

"You've got to sell your idea, Ally."

After work, Dez and Ally made their way back to the coffee shop they'd stop by every morning. Ally really enjoyed the taste of her pumpkin latte the other day that she wanted to grab another cup. She would have ordered it in the morning, but she was in a rush and ordered her usual, wanting to get to work on time. Now that her day was over, she wanted to wind down with a treat. After all, she had a great day so she wanted to reward herself.

"That makes sense. I think I can do that. But I don't know how," she said as they stood in line.

"Of course you do," he said. "You told me that your college team presented in front of the city council for that recycling thing right? They obviously were impressed so just do what you did there for this project and you're golden."

"Yeah, but that was a team effort," she pointed out.

"And you've got a team to back you up at work, myself and Kira included," he encouraged.

The two continued to discuss Ally's new project as they made their way closer to the front.

"Hey guys, so I forgot to ask this morning, how were your pumpkin drinks last Friday?" the barista asked when the familiar pair made their way to the front of the line.

"It's like Fall in a cup," Ally replied dreamily.

"Yeah, it was pretty good," Dez said. "That's why we're back for more."

"See, I knew you'd like it," he chuckled and made their drinks. Once he finished he handed them their freshly brewed beverages.

Ally began to take her wallet out of her purse when Dez stopped her.

"No, this one's on me. Today's your day. You deserve it," he said before handing over his credit card for payment.

"Thanks," she said and sipped her caffeinated goodness.

"Oh, is it your birthday or something?" the barista wondered.

"Nope," Dez said, "But she finally got her voice heard at work, and she's in a competition to head a great project."

"Wow, congratulations!"

"Thanks," she shyly said for the umpteenth time that day. Ally still needed to get used to the attention and the praise. "But I don't even know where to start. I haven't even thought about what the project would be," she began to panic.

"Calm down. You've got time. You're presentation isn't until Friday and you've got a bunch of people backing you up. Now drink your coffee and relax," her best friend ordered.

"Congrats again," the barista said. "And I agree with your friend, you can do it," he winked.

She smiled before taking another sip of her drink, hiding the growing blush on her cheeks. When it came to basic male-female innocent flirting, Ally would become more shy than she normally was.

"See, everyone thinks you can do it!" Dez exclaimed. "And to prove that I have faith in you, I'll buy you as much coffee as you need to keep you energized for your project."

"Nah man, I want to help too. Free coffee on me this week for you guys," the barista said.

"Really man?" Dez was surprised, so was Ally.

"Really," he smiled. "I've seen you guys come here every day for years. You're good people. And I'll do you one better. If you ever need a change of setting to do your work, my shop is open for you guys."

"Wow thanks," Dez said. "You're really doing us a favor, man."

"I really appreciate it," Ally interjected, "but I don't want to intrude on your business. I don't even know your name to be honest. And I feel bad because I come here every morning before work."

"I'm Austin," he smiled and held out his hand.

"Ally," she smiled back and shook it. "This is Dez."

"See, now we've met," he smiled. "So now you can take up my offer. Only if you want. I'm not forcing you guys to work here."

"Thanks Austin," Ally said. "I might just take you up on that offer if Brooke decides to suffocate me at the office."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

That night, Ally shared her news with Kira. She too was ecstatic for her friend and tried to convince Ally to celebrate. As much as Ally would have loved to have fun for the first time since college, she wasn't up for going out for drinks. She had a lot on her plate come the next morning and wanted to rest up. So Kira insisted on a mini celebration at the very least.

"At least let me buy you something. Anything. Oh! How about some gelato from that little Italian place near the gallery?"

If there was one thing Ally loved more than Mondays, it was ice cream. Gelato was even sweeter, so she couldn't say no.

"No fair using my kryptonite against me," she giggled.

"That, and I wanted to drop by the gallery real quick. Need to pick up some brochures. That cool?" her roommate asked.

"Sure, haven't visited you at work in forever," Ally said while grabbing her jacket and purse.

"Yeah because you're a crazy workaholic," Kira joked. "Now that you've got a promotion, I might not even see you at home!"

"Hey I may be a workaholic, but I can't start my days without yoga!"

The pair headed out of their apartment and off to the gelato shop. Ally was very surprised to discover that not only was the gelato shop a very popular and cute little spot, but they had the Italian ice cream version of her all time favorite flavor – fruity mint swirl. And to think the big news from work would make her day, this cup of gelato was the cherry on top for Ally.

Once they finished their desserts, they walked down a couple of blocks to Kira's place of work. Kira Starr was the daughter of a very famous music producer back in Miami. She and Ally went to the same high school and state university before Kira transferred to Wisconsin to finish her upper level college courses. They weren't best friends then, but they knew one another. Kira liked Ally over her actual friends because Ally was one of the only few of her peers to not want to be Kira's friend for the sole reason of having a powerful father. However, she and Ally weren't in the same social circles (i.e. Kira was popular, Ally was a wallflower), so she could only say Ally was a really good classmate from high school. She and Ally stayed in touch like any other members of the same graduating class did – through the power of social media. They followed each other on Tweeter and from time to time mentioned one another when they saw some interesting news on their feeds.

Kira was lucky to have her father's good reputation to allow her to attend arts schools – she was a Starr after all. But she wanted to be a bit on her own and away from her 'friends' in high school, so a fine arts school in Milwaukee accepted her as a transfer student, giving her a fresh start to be just Kira, not _Kira_ _Starr, daughter of Jimmy Starr_. Of course Kira still was being recognized as Jimmy's daughter, which helped her a bit to open her own art gallery in Chicago. So when Kira saw on Ally's Tweeter that she was moving to the windy city after graduation, she thought that it would be nice to have someone she thought of as an actual friend around. And knowing Ally being the shy girl back in high school, she wanted to help a friend out. Ally immediately said yes, feeling a bit at ease to be moving to a new city, but knowing and living with at least one person there – even if they weren't as close back then.

"So what have you been up to lately?" Ally asked, once they entered the main gates into the foyer of the building.

"I've got a new gallery showing this week. Just in time for Fall," Kira explained. "It's probably my favorite one yet."

"Oh yeah? Did you get a famous artist or something?" Ally wondered.

"Or something," her roommate answered. "Well... you know how my dad knows people?"

"Like everyone?" Ally joked.

"Yeah," Kira giggled. She knew Ally was just as intimidated of her father as the next person, but Ally never let that get in the way of how she viewed Kira as a friend. Even Kira for the most part tried not to let it slip who her father was.

"So what's this something already? The suspense is killing me!" Ally jokingly demanded.

"My dad was in Maine over Labor Day and ran into this guy Geoffrey Sebastian."

"You mean the guy who designed the mural on the boardwalk?"

"Yeah that guy."

"Your dad got him to come here?" Ally was amazed.

"Yup. He's offered to design the foyer... And..."

"There's more?! What else is he doing?" she was dying of the suspense.

"My dad showed him some of my own work, and he said he'd ask a bunch of his PR contacts to come to my gallery. My dad's hoping to get one of my designs in a magazine."

"Of course you will! You're crazy talented," Ally said and hugged her friend. "Congrats Kira! Yay we have two things to celebrate today."

"Yup! I'm so glad you get to do that project at work," she said as the two collected a stack of pamphlets Kira needed to finish before her show.

"Not yet. I need my idea to be chosen first," Ally told her. They closed up the hall and headed back to the subway.

"I have no doubt you'll beat that chick, Alls. You're crazy talented too," Kira explained.

"You and Dez have this wild idea that I'm a creative genius, but we'll see about that, Kir."

"Look girl, me and Dez have been your friends for years, and I've known you since we were 14. You're smart, and you deserve this project. All you did was speak up at a meeting and fate knocked at your door giving you a chance to be heard even more. Imagine the possibilities after winning this presentation!"

"Whoa, slow down. One thing at a time. Let's finish this project first," Ally chuckled.

"All I'm saying is you can do anything. Just find that confidence in you and go for it, Dawson!"

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"Ally, I'm going to need you to approve these supply orders that Cassidy didn't sign yet."

"Will do."

"And you need to be at the executive board meeting in 15 minutes on the 6th floor, Conference Room B. Don't forget the reports from last quarter for the warehouse sales."

"Okay."

"Also, you need to give Steve your travel info so we can give you your hotel and flight booked for the expo."

"Uh, sure," she mentally added it to her list.

"And don't forget to read the attendees list, twice, to point out some leads for us. Make sure you cross reference Cassidy's and my team's notes so you don't overlap. And check notes from last quarter on vendors we are trying to avoid. Also, choose a booth location with prime foot traffic. This is essential to having a successful show."

"Are you sure all of this was in Cassidy's task list? I thought she was in charge of display and-"

"Look Ally, you wanted this job, not me. Should you really be complaining?" Brooke, who had passed by her desk about a dozen times that morning with task after task, said.

"I'm not complai-"

"Hey, if you can't handle it, then let someone else take over. I'll be glad to plan the project for the expo on my own," she sneakily remarked.

Granted, all of these tasks were a bit overwhelming for Ally, but she didn't want Brooke to reap the satisfaction after just one day of Ally's Executive Director position. So she took a deep breath and met eye-to-eye with her colleague.

"I'll be at the meeting and have everything done for you by the end of today," she answered sternly.

Not being able to pick out a weakness, Brooke let out a small "hmph", turned her heels and walked back down the hall to her own office.

Once she left, Dez popped his head up from his cubicle.

"Jeez, Brooke's been non stop grinding you this morning, Ally."

"She's just trying to see if I'll fail. I'm a big girl. I can handle her don't worry," she dismissed any thought of letting Brooke play with her mind.

"I know you can," he said and walked over to her desk, helping her sort out the stack of papers Brooke dumped on her moments ago. "Just make sure she doesn't abuse her power on you."

"She won't. Technically we're equals for the next few months." Ally reminded him.

"I know but don't you think she's being a bit fishy? She never talked to your team about stuff unless it was during meetings. Now she has a to do list for you?" Dez grew suspicious.

"Like I said, she's trying to psych me out, reminding me of the added responsibilities Cassidy has as director."

"Yeah I know that, but... I may not be in your department but like you said your team isn't supposed to deal with these reports. That's Brooke's team. She's keeping you from planning your project idea to pitch to Steve," he pointed out.

The sudden realization occurred to Ally while she was double checking the supply orders to sign. She quickly scribbled her name on the paper and slammed it on her desk in frustration.

"Oh my God, you are so right, Dez!" she said angrily. "Ugh, that Brooke is a snake I tell you."

"Look, I'll help you with the stuff she gave you today, but just ask another team member to keep your team in check so Brooke doesn't throw stupid tasks your way."

"Good idea. I still haven't written out a plan for my presentation yet, and with this workload, Brooke might actually get what she wants and let me fail miserably."

"That won't happen Alls. We're here to help," Dez patted his friend on the back and took the attendee's list from her hands, planning to proof the list for her by the time she finished her meeting. "Now go to your meeting and make sure she doesn't eat you alive, buddy!"

"Thanks Dez. I'll talk to you at lunch!"

After the meeting, which to Ally's surprise, was a last minute pointless one that Brooke called to talk about the expo to the executive team and Steve, Ally finally made it back to her desk. She had explained to Dez that Brooke spoke in circles for almost 2 hours about their competitors, those of which who weren't even attending the expo, and her best friend pointed out that she was keeping Ally from doing work. _Again._ This angered Ally and she made sure not to let Brooke win again that day.

On her way back from the restroom, Trish noticed Ally grabbing a cup of coffee from the break room.

"Hey Ally, how's your day going?" the short Latina stepped in, grabbing a cup of caffeine as well.

"Oh you know, just another day at the office," Ally said before sipping her coffee.

Trish chuckled at Ally's response. "I mean how's your first day in Cassidy's shoes?"

"Oh! Right, it's going alright. I mean I'm with Cassidy on a daily basis so I know how much of a workload she has to do. I've just got a few extra things on my plate on top of that presentation for Steve, nothing big."

"That's good to hear," Trish said. "And how's little miss jealousy taking it today?"

"Dez has pointed out that she's trying to find my weakness, but I think I can handle her," Ally said.

"Good for you, Ally. As Dez would say, crush her," the girls laughed at Trish's response.

Not a moment too soon, the green-eyed monster herself stepped into the break room. Seeing a member of HR, Trish, with Ally, Brooke knew she had to watch herself.

"Good morning ladies," she said in the most obvious bluffed tone. Trish smiled at her, to be courteous, and the girls sat quietly, not wanting to speak while Brooke was around.

Ally took the last sip of her coffee and excused herself momentarily to refill her cup. Brooke, who had her back turned from the table where Trish and Ally were sitting, was minding her own business and fixing herself a cup of coffee as well. Yearning to give Ally more of a difficult day than she already has, she saw an opportunity when she and Ally were standing beside one another where the coffee pot was.

"Whoops!" she said as she accidentally on purpose splattered the coffee from her mug onto the counter, her beverage splattering everywhere, including on Ally's blouse.

"Oh God," Ally said as she tugged on her top, not wanting the hot liquid to burn her skin.

"Oh Ally, I am so sorry," Brooke faked, handing her some napkins. "My buttery fingers made my cup slip out of my hand."

"No, it's okay," Ally tried to stay calm. "Accidents... happen."

"Yes, it really was an accident," Brooke fake pouted. "I'm sorry Ally, let me pay for that blouse?"

"No need," Ally said. "Accidents happen," she repeated.

"Well I've got to run to another meeting. You sure you don't want my help?" she offered one last time.

"I'm fine, Brooke," Ally dismissed the empty gesture.

Brooke apologized once more and turned to walk out of the break room. When she knew nobody could see her face, she slipped out an evil grin, knowing she just put a damper on Ally's already grueling day.

Trish, who had seen the whole thing, could point out Brooke's bluff from a mile away. She squinted her eyes and shook her head. _She's just putting up an act_ , she thought.

"Come on, I'll help you clean up in the restroom," she said, grabbing some more napkins from the cupboard and quickly wiping the counter clean with a rag.

Ally went to the ladies room to wash the stickiness on her arms off, trying as best she could to save what was left that could be saved from the coffee stain on her blouse. She had asked Trish to go to Dez and ask him for her sweater, so she made her way towards the cubicle. Trish briefly informed Dez of the incidents in the break room and asked where Ally kept her coat.

"Her coat? You mean the one she wore coming here today?"

"Yeah, she asked me to grab it from you. Probably to hide the stain."

"Oh," Dez understood and shook his head. "She means this." Dez grabbed a spare key from his desk drawer and walked back to Ally's desk, unlocking a small cabinet door at the end of Ally's shelves. Opening it, he revealed what Ally would call her "Emergency Preparedness Kit". The small cabinet shelf had a typical first aid kit, a couple of water bottles, a pair of flats, a pair of black jeans, and what Dez was looking for, a simple blue knitted three quarters sleeve top.

"Here ya go." he handed the blue garment to Trish.

"Wow, Ally really does come prepared," Trish was impressed.

"That's Ally for you," he chuckled.

"And she gave you a spare key to her desk drawer?" she wondered.

"I didn't just become her best friend by default," Dez quipped an eyebrow. "Well, sort of..." they both laughed. "But she trusts me enough so I'm her emergency contact along with her roommate Kira. Even Kira's got set of keys for everything Ally has."

Trish, curious to learn more about Ally's quirks, remembered that she had a friend in need of clean clothes, so she said thank you and headed back to Ally.

"Hey Ally, here you go, courtesy of Dez," Trish handed over the top.

"Thanks Trish," Ally said after wiping her hands dry. She stepped into a stall and began to pry off the sticky stained blouse from herself to put on clean clothes.

"Dez showed me your emergency preparedness kit," Trish brought up. "That's really smart."

"Yeah, it's a bit OCD, but better to be safe than sorry right?" Ally said behind the stall.

"Well in this case, it's not OCD, it's a life saver."

"Yup. Did Dez remember to lock my cabinet once he took this out?" she asked.

"That was the first thing he did before handing the shirt over to me. You are very organized you know that?" Trish said.

Ally stepped out of the stall, feeling a bit more comfortable with her fresh clean shirt on. "So I've been told," she playfully rolled her eyes at Trish.

"Hey that's a good thing," Trish countered. "Wish my life was as kept together like that."

"Well, I'm cursed with always preparing for the worse. I had a cousin back home who gave me the nickname Murphy when I was a kid because I got hurt so much. Bumped my head on a table, bottle of milk not tightened so it spills. Not pretty," the girls laughed. "So as I got older, I just prepared for everything. I have an extra phone battery in my purse, band-aids, hand sanitizer. I gave Dez and my friend Kira all my emergency contacts and keys just in case. What can I say, I play it safe."

"There's nothing wrong with playing it safe," Trish said.

"Tell that to everyone else," Ally said. "I know there's nothing wrong with playing it safe, but Dez and everyone tells me that I'm just too 'comfortable' I guess to go out of my comfort zone."

Trish understood what she meant. She saw it too.

"I think you're doing a great job at finding your edge though. I mean, look at what Brooke did to you today. If that were me I would've poured my coffee over her head in return," they chuckled.

"Yeah, I tried so hard not to snap. I knew she did that on purpose."

"Well," Trish said as the two headed out the door, "now you have a reason to get back at her. So kick some serious ass with this project, Ally," she smiled at her coworker.

"Duly noted," Ally giggled. "Thanks again for your help, Trish."

"No problem, Ally. Good luck on your presentation!"

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Despite Brooke's attempt to abuse Ally's new found position and her somewhat naivete demeanor, Ally Dawson was able to finish her first day as acting executive director with every task complete. She had explained to one of her other team members, Ethan, about Dez's speculation of Brooke, and he kept Brooke away from her the rest of the day. Knowing that Brooke would ploy to keep her busy during the work hours, Ally had no choice but to work on her presentation after hours. Thankfully, Cassidy built an amazing and supportive team, and they all agreed to meet after work with Ally. Dez suggested not to take a chance at the office with Brooke, so Ally had her team and Dez over at her apartment that evening.

"Whoa, did someone throw a party in our living room and I didn't get the memo?" Kira jokingly asked as she stepped inside her and Ally's apartment. She opened the door to 5 bodies scattered in the living room and dining table, laying out charts and posters regarding the expo.

"Hey Kira," Ally sheepishly grinned standing with two of her team members at the dining table. She sauntered over to her roommate, hopeful that she wasn't upset at her for not letting her know ahead of time. "Sorry about this. Had a long day at work."

"No worries, Alls," Kira giggled. If it were anyone else, Kira would have been upset. But she and Ally were friends, and Ally was the most considerate person she knew. She admired Ally's work ethic, and had adopted the hardworking attitude since they became roommates.

Dez walked over to the kitchen, grabbing a water bottle and tossing it to Kira, knowing from the Chicago heat that day that the beverage would provide refreshment for her. She hollered a thanks to him and turned to Ally, sitting at the edge of the couch, perusing through their work.

"So what happened today? You kicked butt?"

"I did what I could," Ally meekly replied.

"She did great!" Kimmy, Ally's team member hollered.

"Yeah, Ally didn't miss a beat with Cassidy's absence," Dez said.

"Even with the evil she-witch," Ethan chuckled.

"Huh?" Kira was caught off guard with the comment.

"Brooke is out to get Ally," Dez said nonchalantly. It wasn't news to him, neither was it for Ally.

"Explain the red head," Kira chuckled.

"She tried to keep me busy today to keep me from working on this. That's why we're hear working overtime... I promise we won't take long. We're just trying to come up with an idea tonight. I'll have us go somewhere tomorrow."

"Ally," Kira stopped her. "This is our apartment, remember? You can do what you want too girl."

"You sure we're not a bother?"

"It's only a bother if you guys throw a party without me," she joked, prompting her friend to laugh.

"Well you can always join the party!" Kimmy cheered.

"As much as I'd love to," Kira said before standing up. "I've got a bit of work to do myself at the gallery."

"I thought your show isn't until Thursday?" Ally remembered.

"It is," Kira said. "For the public. My dad is throwing a private showing for VIP guests, you know, his 'crowd'," Kira air quoted. "and Mr. Sebastian's guests too. So I've got to pull an all nighter with my staff to go over the details."

"Ah well I know you'll do great. They'll be blown away by your artistic vision!" Ally supported her friend.

Kira ran to her room for a moment to pick up the brochures she and Ally had finished the night before to bring to the gallery that night. Before she headed out, she wished Ally all the best.

"Don't stress too much, girl. I know you," Kira pretended to scold her. "And Dez," she called the tall ginger from across the room. He looked up at the call of his name. "Make sure that Brooke doesn't hurt our Ally!"

"Way ahead of you, Kir!" he saluted at her.

"Thanks, Kira. I think I can handle her," Ally hugged her friend.

"Oh, I almost forgot. My dad said I could invite some of my friends to my private viewing tomorrow, four VIP slots. I added you and Dez to the guest list, including plus ones because honestly I'd only want to invite you guys. Everyone else pretty much acts like our classmates back home."

Ally understood. No matter how far Kira went, she still had the Starr family name, and people wanted to be friends with a Starr, instead of Kira. Going back to the news, Ally was surprised. She had already planned to attend her gallery that weekend – it would be going on from Thursday to Saturday. But now a chance to go to an invite only preview night? It was an honor.

"Aw Kira, that's so awesome of you to add us to your guest list!" Ally exclaimed. Though her smile immediately faltered. "But..."

Kira knew, and she wasn't hurt. Any other day she would beg for her to come, but she wouldn't dare to mess with Ally's chance to shine.

"It's alright, Alls," Kira reassured her. "I better see you on Saturday, or no more work parties at the apartment," she winked.

There was something special about Kira and Ally's friendship. It was unlikely to begin with, but those were the best of friendships. Where the true epitome of opposites attract is recognized and always appreciated.

"Scouts honor!" Ally assured her.

After Kira left, the team – which consisted of Ally, (Cassidy's right hand man and acting executive director), Dez (Graphics guy and Ally's moral support), Kimmy (a bubbly and enthusiastic member of Cassidy's team), Ethan (a cool, athletic and fun-loving guy in Cassidy's team), and Marvin, (the shy, quiet one of Cassidy's team with crazy beat boxing skills) – threw ideas out for presentation ideas.

"Okay so, as an advantage, our team was in charge of booth display and handouts. So Cassidy was planning how the experience would be already," Ally explained, more so that Dez was caught up with what the rest of the team knew (since he wasn't in the event planning department).

"And Brooke's team is about targeting leads and certain people to the booth," Ethan pointed out.

"I told you she was taking advantage of you," Dez murmured to Ally.

"So, now what?" Marvin barely said above a whisper.

They all craned their necks to hear him repeat it again, barely a volume louder.

Instead of trying to speak louder, he gestured "on to the next thing" with his arms pushing forward.

"Oh! And don't forget Steve liked Ally's idea at the first meeting!" Kimmy cheered. She was always a ball of energy. Which wasn't a surprise when she shared she was the head cheerleader at her hometown's high school, winning most spirited award her senior year.

"That's right," Ethan gathered. "Brooke's idea was all about looks. But that was it. Nothing to go from there... No offense, Dez." This prompted them all to laugh.

"None taken, I understand," the redhead showed no hard feelings. "But go on." He was curious to know what exactly happened at the meeting.

"Then Ally said that she missed the whole 'this is a mobile application' aspect of the product, and Steve loved it." Kimmy finished.

"So, why don't we stick with Ally's first idea? Show the convenience and the mobility of the product?" Ethan suggested.

"Wow, Ally. I'm impressed. Great job!" he high-fived his best friend.

"You guys really think my original idea was good?" Ally asked, blushing from the praise they gave about her idea being better than Brooke's. She had gone 3 days at work with continued praise and yet she still wasn't used to the flattery.

"Ally, it's the essence of the product," Ethan explained. "It's..."

"Simple," Kimmy smiled.

"And perfect," Dez thumbs upped.

"Thanks guys," Ally sincerely appreciated their support. "Well, I guess we should study the product, especially the mobile application part, and have Nelson from IT install the beta version for our presentation tomorrow."

They nodded their heads in confirmation and went to work reading about the features, technological specifications, and the sleek design – because, and they hate to admit it, Brooke was right that it stood out in the logistics sphere.

It was nearing 9 PM and Ally didn't want her coworkers to feel weary in the morning. They were given assignments to work on for the project on their own time before meeting up again the following afternoon. Dez had pointed out that the group should try not to give Brooke another thing to mess up, so they'd speak minimal about the presentation at work and hold their session after hours. That way, Ethan added, Brooke wouldn't steal their idea as well.

She loved her team. They looked out for one another. Cassidy built this team since she became director five years ago. She hand-picked each person, wanting to ensure they had the right synergy and most importantly, got along. More so, they welcomed her best friend Dez like he's been a part of this team since day one, and that made Ally happy. Although, they'd already known of Ally and Dez's friendship – everyone at the office knew their bond, so it was natural that they easily got along with him.

Dez stayed behind once Ally's team left. They were so caught up with work that they didn't even grab any dinner. Luckily, the others didn't mind the granola bars, fruit and yogurt Ally had in her refrigerator to hold them down for a while. Her male best friend offered to order a pizza to have a late dinner before he left. Ally didn't mind. Other than Kira, Dez really was the only other person she hung out with on a daily basis. When the pizza arrived twenty minutes later, the best friends settled on her couch and let the TV on, running white noise in the background.

It had been a while since Ally and Dez actually had time to really make conversation. Sure, they caught up every day with their weekend plans and whatnot and the three of them would have dinner often, or visit Kira's gallery on the weekends, but the last time they had a heart to heart was nearly a year ago.

"How is it we live in Chicago and this is only the second time we've had pizza here?" the redhead asked before stuffing his mouth with his third slice of cheesy goodness.

"Um because you go on crazy diets remember?" Ally reminded him. "And what gives if it's Chicago? We don't even like Deep Dish pizza," she giggled. "It's all about the thin crust!" they high-fived.

"I know, but pizza is good anywhere!" he reminded her.

"Alright then we'll have more pizza after this week," she said.

"So, is Kira excited for her gallery this week? That girl is crazy talented," he said after 5 slices, and two root beers. He settled comfortably on the couch, satisfied with the amazing late night meal.

"Oh my God! I forgot to tell you what she said to me. So her dad's inviting some famous artist that painted a mural at the boardwalk back in Miami to her gallery."

"Sweet!" he high-fived his friend again.

"That's not the best part," Ally said, putting down her plate of pizza and facing Dez. "Mr. Starr also invited a lot of Execs he knows and of course a bunch of people on his label to a private showing tomorrow, and Kira invited us!"

"No way!" Dez was surprised. Sure, he was from California, but he lived in the bay area, not Hollywood. The closest he's ever had an encounter with celebrities was when they closed down a building at UC Berkeley for a week to shoot a movie that Steven Spielberg was filming. He didn't meet the guy, but they ended up using the theater hall and Dez had a class there. He was overwhelmingly delighted that he stepped foot in the same room as a legend – even if it were at different times.

"That means we're going right?" he anticipated.

Ally really wanted to go, but she had a lot on her plate. She hated t o crush his dreams.

"As much as I'd love to go and get starstruck for a night, I've got this presentation with Brooke," she told him. "But I'm not stopping you, Dez. Kira gave each of us plus ones. You can bring someone from work if you want?"

Dez was a bit crushed, but it didn't faze him as much. He was a laid back guy and completely understood.

"I can't go to a fancy party without my partner in crime!" he said. "That's alright, I don't even have a plus one if I went anyways. But we're still going Saturday right?"

"Yep, Kira knows and expects us to be there if we don't go tomorrow," Ally said.

"Sounds good," he said while flipping through the channels to watch something decent.

"Hey," Ally remembered the second thing he said, "you know a lot of people at work. You'd definitely have a plus one even if I don't go."

"Yeah, but need I remind you Ms. Dawson that I'm in a loving relationship with my long distance girlfriend, Carrie," he said.

"I never said bring a date," she corrected him. "Just bring a friend to hang out with at a fancy artsy gallery."

"Mm... pass. If I have a plus one and it's not you or Kira, I'd want Carrie. And I don't even have guy friends here."

"Yeah, you really need guy time. Why don't you ask Ethan or Marvin to hangout?"

"Marvin doesn't even talk," he chuckled. "And Ethan, he's a nice guy, but all he'll talk about is you."

"Hey!" Ally smacked his arm. She didn't know if she should be offended or creeped out. "Why would he talk about me? And why is that a bad thing?"

"You're my best friend, Alls," he told her. "And I love spending every day with you. I just don't want to spend time with a dude that wants to talk about you when I spend every day with you anyways."

"Why would he do that?"

"Are you serious?" he deadpanned.

"What?" she was genuinely confused.

"Ally, he has like the world's biggest crush on you."

"No he doesn't," she dismissed.

"Okay, I may be exaggerating, but you know he thinks your pretty, right?"

Ally picked up her cup and took a sip, trying to hide her blush.

"But I don't think of Ethan that way," she told her best friend.

"Why not? Isn't he a nice guy?"

"He is. And very outdoorsy. But I just think of him as a nice guy. And he's a flirt, remember? He thinks every girl is pretty."

"Good point," Dez remembered. Ethan was cool, but he was a lady's man.

"Besides, relationships in the office just call for a complicated mess," she added.

"You're doing it again..."

"Doing what?" she raised her eyebrow.

"You're finding an excuse not to take a chance in a relationship," he shared.

"I don't do that," she defended.

"Yes you do, Alls. Remember Elliot? That guy you were dating when we first met? You said you two had so much in common and even Kira said remembering him from high school that Elliot was so sweet to you. Then one day you broke up with him."

"That's because not everyone can be like you and Carrie, Dez."

"Okay, then what about Gavin?"

"What about Gavin?"

"He lived here. You dated for a few months, then broke it off with him."

"You make me seem like a tramp or something," she joked.

"You're not a tramp Ally. You're scared of change."

"How is that change?"

"Because someone else important will be in your life and you'd have to think of a future with them. Don't you want that?" he asked her.

"Of course I do. But not now. I want to focus on myself and my career," she said proudly.

"There's definitely nothing wrong with that," Dez explained. "But Ally, you're already in an amazing part of your career. You're ready to think of yourself being in a steady relationship."

"It's not that easy, Dez."

"I know it's not. Carrie and I aren't always this great. There are times I want to call it off or she wants to leave, but we stay together because we're confident we'll be together again in the future. Why don't you want to be in relationships? The truth?"

Dez had always wondered why Ally had failed in her relationships. They never cheated, didn't have huge fights (because let's face it, all couples argue), and complimented one another. Elliot may have had the long distance reason to break it off with him, but Gavin didn't have anything Dez could think of from the top of his head.

Ally fidgeted with the nail polish on her fingernails, gathering herself to answer her friend's question.

"Because..."

"Can you elaborate on that?" he chuckled.

"Because... because, because, because!" was all she could muster. "I don't... I don't want to get hurt."

Dez saw the innocence in her eyes. He knew she didn't just mean heartbreak. It meant more. After a moment, she continued.

"It's already bad enough that I'm so quiet and reserved. Not to mention my lack of confidence."

"Ally you're confident."

"Not confident enough for you and Kira."

"Ally," Dez patted her hand. "We believe in your confidence. We know you have it. Everyone does. We just want you to see it too."

"Thanks, Dez," she said.

"But that's what relationships are all about. Willing to get hurt. It sounds cruel, but you're willing to get hurt in a relationship because when you find someone who won't ever hurt you. It'll be all worth it."

"I get that Dez, I really do. But I don't want to waste my time getting hurt at the same time. That just goes back to my problem about taking risks."

"Love is the best risk there is."

"Let me work on one thing at a time," she lightly chuckled, making him laugh as well.

"Okay, okay. Work today, love life tomorrow," he stated.

"Love life? Dez, I told you I don't want to be in a relationship right now. I'm still getting over Gavin."

"Ally, it's been a year. You barely even cried when you guys broke up. Stop being scared okay?"

"Ugh, I hate when you're right, but I don't like admitting it," she rolled her eyes.

"Well that's why they call me..." he paused then leaned forward, "the 'Love Whisperer'," he joked.

"No one calls you that," Ally laughed.

"Just promise me you won't run from love okay? And I'll drop it."

"Fine fine. But I'm not going to look for it. I'd rather have fate knocking at my door," she said dreamily.

"There's the hopeless romantic Ally we all know and love," he joked.


End file.
